I’m glad that he trusts me enough to know that I won’t cheat on him, but I was hoping for more of a reaction. His reaction made me think that he is taking our relationship for granted.

I’m a firm believer that oversharing has its place in building strong friendships and relationships, and sometimes it even has its place in public discourse when we’re trying to break down certain stigmas or misconceptions about real people’s personal lives.

While necessary for protection against COVID-19, masks seem to force a sense of anonymity. Not just because they hide more than half of the recognizable features of the face, but also because they conceal many components of our facial expressions.

You’ve probably had the misfortune of knowing someone, or having someone in a class, or being forced to sit next to someone at an event, who just won’t shut up. This person wants to talk about politics, their pseudointellectual theories, their obscure interests, their personal problems. Now, in some cases that might be all fine and good, but this person doesn't care whether you’re listening or not. The point is just that you sit there and take it while they steamroll you, and time ticks by.

Vulnerability can not only build stronger relationships with other people but, by stepping out of your comfort zone, you allow for increased self reflection and personal growth as well.

I used to wonder quite often about what made some people better conversationalists than others. Was it their life experiences, I asked myself, their confidence, or their emotional intelligence? After a while, I began to realize that the best communicators didn’t actually talk that much. The best communicators are the best listeners, a fact which not a lot of people seem to realize, much to my chagrin.

In the past six months, we have all watched our way of life slowly change and develop into something that we can now call normal. When the social distancing guidelines first came out, it felt foreign and strange to stand 6 feet from a person in conversation. When the mask mandate came out, I for one thought that masks were extremely difficult to breathe in.